Bison Bud

Most cameras come with some sort of basic editing software in their marketing bundles and I'd think that would be a good place to start, especially for a newbie. I've found the software provided with my Canon Rebel to be quite functional and I seldom need anything more. "ZoomBrowser" is a pretty decent .jpeg editor and "Digital Photo Pro" handles my raw files far better than I ever expected. While I'm not sure what if anything you may have received with your camera, take a look, you might be surprised with what it can do and with a much more enjoyable learning curve.

Sassenach Loc: Tennessee

I love Snapseed. It’s very user friendly & free. It has presets that I really like.

martin211275

I do not have many computer skills but I have found Photoshop Elements easy to use. Usually on sale at Costco

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I don't know starting and learning with something you might end up using, in the long run, makes sense to me. There are a ton of how to tutoriasl on Lightroom and Photoshop. When I stopped using a bicycle and learned how to drive I thought the car was a little too advanced for me. Not so much now.

wds0410 Loc: Nunya

Apple's photo software which comes with the High Sierra comes with a free editor. You should give it a try.

rbnzreflections

COPY the LEARNING part 🤣🤣🤣😉

Linckinn Loc: Okatie, SC and Edgartown, MA

You can go a long way editing with Apple’s “Photos” before you need anything else, if ever. Free with Apple operating system, currently High Sierra.

castello

I have a Windows computer with Adobe CS6 (Photoshop, etc.) and Lightroom. I also have a Ubuntu Linux computer with Darktable, RawTherapee and Shotwell (and Gimp, etc.).

When I shoot a wedding, I'll have 1000 photos to deal with. I can organize, weed out and edit for final delivery all those in under two days with just Darktable alone. Rarely do I need to use Photoshop and, in my opinion, Darktable has more features, and is faster to use than Lightroom.

Darktable is not completely intuitive. I used it for months before figuring out where all the features were and how to best use them. (Tip: Read the manual or watch the YouTubes!)

Note that all the Linux programs are FREE and very easy to install. In fact, Linux itself is free. After juggling two computers for half a year, I switched to using Linux as my main computer four years ago. I rarely ever turn the Windows computer on.

My wife (not exactly a geek!) switched her laptop to Linux three years ago. She just bought a new one and asked me to remove Windows 10 and install Ubuntu 17.10.

So, if you're a photographer struggling with the expense of Windows, anti-virus programs, Photoshop, etc., etc. - the switch to Ubuntu is simple (if you don't try for a dual-boot configuration) and problem-free.

don26812 Loc: South Bay of Los Angeles, CA

Rbnz, I suggest you give Adobe's Photoshop Elements 2018 a look. True it is not free, but will cost about $100 (on sale now until 1/7 for $70). You can start out using its Quick and Guided Edits modes. It has an Organizer integrated in the program that will help you keep track of your photos. The Editor is built on the same engine as Photoshop CC. If you ever outgrow the capabilities of Elements, the transition to Photoshop CC will be relatively smooth. Additionally, if you ever want to move up to Lightroom, it has a command that converts your Elements Catalog to that used by Lightroom.

I would suggest you download the free 30 day trial of PSE 2018. It runs on both PCs and Macs. Here is the link.

http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-elements.html?promoid=DJDWS&s_cid=70114000002CfGJAA0&s_iid=70114000002ChdJAAS

Nikonman44

OK ok there are more answers than questions BUT. If you use what you have and it works you are fine. I have several but found a FREEBIE called GIMP 2.8

Just try it. It is easy to use, cost nothing and with a little bit of time you can decide to use it or delete it

It is free and is a very substantial piece of after shooting software. Its best compared to Photoshop, in my opinion.

pixbyjnjphotos Loc: Apache Junction,AZ

I don't think I saw anyone mentioning Faststone Image Viewer. It is free. It is an image viewer with simple all around image editing capabilities. It works very nicely for a beginner. I still use it a lot. Have a GREAT DAY!

ralphfr Loc: Long Island, NY

Does anyone have an opinion/experience about/with Fotor? I am using it for JPEG only. Is there any reason I should be choosing one editor over another for JPEG? Thanks.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

🤓👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻. The Windows 10 and the Apple Photos are great. They are already loaded on your computer so they are FREE. I gone over them with my photo students. The new High Sierra (Apple Mac) has about twice ans much capablility as the Win 10. They are easy to use and will take care of about 90% of your post processing needs. Happy Shooting

bikertut Loc: Kingsville, MO

I just bought Affinity yesterday on sale for $40 (I think the sale ends today). Overwhelming at first look, then I found the tutorials. There are at least 50 of them and they start with the basics. They make all the difference to me.

Bought it to remove the background in a portrait of our Rottweiler on a black background. (Don’t know what the “professional” photographer was thinking.)

Had the background removed and replaced in 15 minutes on my first try. I am thrilled to say the least. My first try at post processing other than cropping.

chapjohn Loc: Tigard, Oregon

Look at FastStone.